Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Education Summer Programs topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Manatee Schools report summer programs expansion and notable third‑grade promotion gains
Summary
District officials presented expanded summer offerings and professional learning and reported summer reading outcomes: 390 of 567 retained third‑graders attended summer camp; 169 of attendees (43%) met promotion criteria via STAR/FAST, reducing total retentions to 398.
Manatee County School District leaders on July 21 reviewed an expanded slate of summer programs and professional learning initiatives they say are designed to shrink instructional gaps before the 2026–27 school year.
Deputy Superintendent Jensen introduced Executive Director of Teaching and Learning Thea Johnson and Allison Nichols, the district’s director of elementary curriculum, who outlined statutory and district-run summer offerings including third‑grade summer reading camp, summer bridge for early learners (VPK), summer VPK vouchers, extended school year (ESY) for students with IEPs, Title I camps, migrant camps and various STEM and arts camps. Nichols said the district also ran career and postsecondary exposure camps at MTC for rising juniors and seniors.
Nichols walked the board through the state’s promotion pathways for retained third graders: “We start with the STAR reading test; students who meet the 50th percentile qualify for good‑cause promotion,” she said, and students who do not meet that benchmark may take the FAST assessment later in the summer. “If they score level 2 or higher on FAST, that is a straight promotion to fourth grade per the state.”
On outcomes, Nichols reported that of 567 students initially retained, 390 attended the summer reading camp. Of those attendees, 24 met good‑cause promotion on STAR and 145 later achieved level‑2+ on FAST, for a combined 169 promoted (about 43 percent of camp participants). That reduced projected retentions to 398, Nichols said.
Board members pressed staff on outreach and access. Nichols said participation decisions remain with families and noted barriers such as day‑length: district programs typically end in the mid‑afternoon while many private VPK providers offer longer days, which can make summer programming difficult for working families. She said the district partnered with United Way and the Manatee Education Foundation to expand a state‑mandated summer bridge program so more district VPK completers could attend without restrictive eligibility criteria.
Nichols also described other summer offerings and counts: roughly 300 students participated in Title I camps; the ESY program served about 267 students; a migrant summer program served about 48 students; and the Smart Enough Camp (arts-focused) had about 75 participants. Career and postsecondary camps at MTC were free and designed to raise awareness of vocational and technical options.
Why it matters: the district tied summer instruction and demonstration professional learning to its strategic priorities and said the smaller class sizes and targeted instruction in summer reading camp appear to have produced measurable promotion gains for students at risk of retention. District staff said they will continue to refine outreach strategies so more eligible families enroll in state‑mandated programs.
Board members and staff said next steps include follow‑up on outreach plans to increase awareness of career and postsecondary offerings and collecting precise counts (district staff said they would provide exact eligibility figures on request). The district will present results and additional context as it finalizes the comprehensive evidence‑based reading plan for board review.
